And... We have a makeshift toilet facility!
It took a bit of time and effort. I had to go to the library a few times, too, to brush up on SimTube videos of people assembling similar makeshift bathroom structures for camping. And... I got a little video gaming in, too.
I had to dumpster dive for some stuff to sell so we could make just a little more money. Even then, I had to break the news that no, we wouldn't have two separate toilets. We'd have one compartment for the toilet, but it would have a door. We'd have another for the outdoor shower. It wouldn't have a door.
Jillian took Katie on a few collecting runs. They ended up all the way over by the science center. It's a very long walk. She got there in fits and starts, collecting a few items, resting, collecting more, resting again. But Katie got fussy and hungry, so after they cashed in the specimens Jilly gathered, Jillian stopped at the kitschy diner next door before cabbing it home. I couldn't be mad...after eating at the diner and cab fare, they still cleared over three hundred dollars!
I spent the next day purchasing materials and assembling at least the frame. By sunset, I had it up. Jillian was a little disappointed that the toilet wasn't set up yet, but she could see I was sweaty and exhausted. She sent me off to the gym for a shower and told me to go ahead and watch some TV there if I wanted. She'd watch Katie until bedtime.
Meanwhile, I felt bad that I couldn't complete the bathroom for her. I know she's so tired of the gym. It's really hard if you have to go in the middle of the night. It's either pee in the bushes, which is way easier for guys, or slog across the street to the gym for yet ANOTHER $5 fee.
I cut school. I told her I was too tired to go, but I'd look after Katie. She hesitated. I knew she didn't want to leave Katie with me if I might fall asleep.
"I won't sleep," I promised. "It's just the sleep deprivation gave me a bad headache. I'll study here today. Promise."
She frowned, but then left. "I have to work after school."
"That's okay, I can watch Katie all day."
Out of nowhere, she kissed my forehead. We both froze. Neither of us had ever done anything like that. When I gave her a half grin to let her know it was okay, she took off running for the bus.
By the time she came home, I had the roof on and the lanterns up...but still no toilets.
It's close to the well. close enough that I can run the hose underground right until the edge of the well, then run it up the outside and down. Nothing to trip over that way, and nothing unsightly.
Jillian was wrecked after school all day and waitressing half the night. Katie was already asleep in the old crib we'd found and set up.
She saw my progress and started to cry.
"Hey...what's wrong?"
She shrugged and shook her head. I didn't know what else to say, so I said nothing. I just held her until she stopped crying.
She didn't say, but I figured she was bone tired and disappointed that there was still no toilet hooked up.
I felt terrible. I knew she didn't understand how hard it was to walk with Katie back and forth to the hardware store for a box of roof paneling at a time, one by one, until we had all ten boxes we needed. I knew she didn't understand that to put the roof on, I had to watch Katie AND watch what I was doing. I put Katie in the crib a couple times, but after about an hour each time, she threw a tantrum until I let her out to play on the ground. Then, of course, there were food breaks, potty breaks for Katie, and toward sunset, a trip to the gym to bathe Katie in the sink in the men's room and to shower and use the bathroom, myself.
I couldn't skip a third day, so we suffered through the rest of the week with our usual gym visits. It wasn't a pay week for Jillian, so her tips were all the extra money we had. I'd been working hard to make up for the two days of school and couldn't go out collecting.
Finally, on Saturday, I worked all morning while she looked after Katie. She had to work, so I wasn't able to do as much in the afternoon, but I still worked on it. She'd tired Katie out at the park, so I had the blessing of three hours of solid work time while Katie napped.
Jillian was super happy to come home and find the completed outhouse...with the toilet inside and even a toilet paper holder installed on the wall and a pack of the pricey toilet tissue that isn't scratchy with a silly gift bow on it from the dollar store. She laughed and cried at the same time. When she came out, she said we should probably move the washstand over to the outhouse area, so we don't have to walk all the way across the campsite to wash up after using the bathroom.
"Tomorrow," I said, lying flat on my back in the dirt under the pavilion.
"Sure, Matt. Sorry. I didn't mean to make more demands. This is awesome. Thanks so much."
"Next up, the shower," I mumbled, half asleep. "As soon as we can get the money together."
I knew we'd both work extra hard to scrape up that fund.
***
If it's Love...
Two things happened this last two weeks.
First, we went to the spring festival...a combination of Valentine's and Easter festivities. We got free passes at school to get in, and everything once you're in is ticket based. You can play games, search for Easter eggs, and enter dance contests to win tickets you can exchange for either food or prizes. We'd hoped to get Katie more toys. The fact that she only has like one toy left...the other two got too filthy and Jillian threw them out...makes us both sad. But they had stuff more geared toward school kids and teens like us.
She found some eggs....
So did I.
We played horseshoes.
We both suck at it, but Jilly won.
We got a little caught up in the moment, I guess. I asked her to dance.
She got all shy and awkward but said yes and stepped into me. It was pretty romantic, what with the sun going down.
When the song ended, I took her hands and took the risk I've been trying to take for weeks now.
"Jillian, I know our lives are really hard right now...but someday, we're going to be in a much better place. For now, though...there's no one else I'd rather be roughing it with. I... I think I love you."
We stood frozen in that moment. I couldn't read her expression. But I took another leap of faith and kissed her.
And when I was finished kissing her and backed away to catch my breath, she pulled me back in and kissed me senseless.
After that, we gathered Katie, turned in our tickets for a hardware store gift card that will help us buy our shower, and floated home on a cloud of happiness. Or at least I did. I think Jilly did, too, but I can't say for sure.
****
Onward and Upward
As the school year raced toward a close and Jillian raced toward graduation, we sat down to plan.
"I've been doing some window shopping," I said. "We can get almost everything for the tiny house locally...at the hardware store. The utility trailers are about $3,300, but if we wait until around Memorial Day or Father's Day, they might go on sale. If we don't have the money by then, we can wait for Labor Day for the end of season sales."
Jillian wrote the figure on a notepad.
"I've been pricing those all-in-one bathroom stall units, and if we go with the middle unit, which I hope we do because the smallest is just super tiny, we can get it for about $4,750."
She added that item with a wince. "Wow. This still feels pretty out of reach."
I nodded. "But remember...when you graduate, you can work full time. I'll watch Katie and take her specimen hunting with me. And if my guitar improves, we can spend time at the park. She can play and I can also...play. The only difference is I'll be playing for tips." I grinned.
"Ok. What else?" she asked.
"Stove, fridge, and sink. They also sell them in these combo units where you can do a mini fridge and a microwave or a regular size fridge and no microwave. The mini set up is about $1250 and the bigger one is $1550."
"I want the bigger one. I know it would be nice to have a microwave, but I'd rather have a roomier fridge. Maybe we can get a blender or food processor or something. I'd like to make a lot of nice, healthy smoothies and soups. And it's easy food that won't require a lot of counter space to prepare."
I nodded. "Ok. So that's $9300 just for the main conveniences. That's not even walls and windows and doors, stairs to the loft or any furniture like beds."
She sighed. "What do you think on the rest? Could we go back to roughing it for a while just to get the trailer bed and then get the framing, walls, windows, and roof up so we can camp out in it until the facilities are installed?"
I gave her a look. "Do you really want to go back to bathing and all that at the pool or gym?"
She gave me a look. "No. But I also don't want Katie to reach school age and risk anyone finding out about how we live."
I frowned. "True."
I put the notebook away and distracted her with some kissing. "We can sell your tent," I suggested. "You can move in mine."
She grinned. "That's not a whole lot of money."
"No. But we'll be warmer when it's cold and it will bring us a few extra bucks."
She laughed. "Okay."
I spent the next week out collecting specimens and found an abandoned mine. I did not venture inside because I thought I saw a pair of eyes glowing back at me. Didn't want to risk running into some animal's lair. But there were quite a few interesting rocks and metals nearby that ended up netting a pretty penny.
And two days after I dropped the specimens, Jilly came home from work to our completed bathroom...shower and all.
****
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